Government is ‘strong, effective and dominant’
Five months after the elections, how do you see the New Democracy government? Strong, effective and dominant. The New Democracy government has proved itself. It has convinced people that it has a new perception of how to exercise power and that is why it has gained their confidence – even of those who did not vote ND in the elections. It has strength which it must use by producing results without making compromises or fearing the political cost. It has a great opportunity to take steps and make structural changes that will benefit Greece. What was the purpose of your proposals at the ND congress? Many people believe they were simply an attempt to set up an independent pole in the government party. My proposals concerning organizational matters are aimed at making the party function more democratically, nothing else. Elections by the party membership, terms of office, formation of a political council and everything else are all aimed at one thing – a functional and completely democratic party, If that is considered an ulterior motive, it’s time some people got over the conspiracy complex that has plagued us as a nation for so many years. My proposals concerning ideology are based on the following clear reasoning: that a unclear ideology and «fishing in murky waters» does not comprise a successful, correctly focused policy. But doesn’t what you say go against the ND leader? On the contrary. We all agree with the policy Constantine Karamanlis laid down in 1974 to cover the ground from the traditional Right to the moderate Left. But parties – and I insist on this – have a central core. And for ND that core is and must be absolutely clear: We are the neo-liberal party of Greece, with a belief in people, initiative and creativity. We aim at social cohesion and the support of the weak expressed every day in practical ways. In short, we are the major neo-liberal party. We don’t forget our conservative supporters, because stable principles and values are not a bad type of conservatism, but we do not forget that since 1974 ND has represented millions of our fellow countrymen who never belonged to the old Right. That is, the modern ND, a European center-right party. But to stay modern it has to renew itself continually while remaining completely democratic. This need for continual renewal and full democracy is what my proposal expressed, nothing else.
